Supply

Large rough stones net $13M for Gem Diamonds

This 162.02-carat rough diamond from a mine in the African kingdom of Lesotho sold for $68,687 per carat at the Gem Diamonds tender held last month.

London---The 162.02-carat and 161.31-carat diamonds recovered by Gem Diamonds Ltd. in January sold for a total of $13.5 million at the miner’s February tender.

London-based Gem Diamonds announced Wednesday that the larger stone, the type II 162.02-carat diamond, went for $11.1 million, or $68,687 per carat, while the smaller 161.31-carat, type I stone sold for $2.4 million, or $14,636 per carat.

Both achieved top prices in accordance with their color, clarity and expected size after polishing, Gem Diamonds said. The company did not release any details about the stones’ buyers.

Upon their sale, the two big diamonds became the third and the fourth gems to fetch more than $2 million for the mining company in the last few months.

In October, the mining company sold a 12.47-carat blue rough diamond found at Letšeng for $7.5 million, while an 82-carat white diamond went for $4.8 million at the same sale.

Gem Diamonds found both pieces of rough at the Letšeng mine in the Kingdom of Lesotho in late January. It operates the mine in conjunction with the government there.

The Letšeng mine is famous for producing some of the world’s largest top color white diamonds. Since being acquired by Gem Diamonds in 2006, it has produced four of the top 20 largest white gem-quality diamonds on record.